Combating Dental Fear: Can Cartoons Help Children Overcome Anxiety?

Lifetime Family Dental

2 years ago

Could video goggles stocked with cartoons be the next technology to fight dental fear in Gilbert, AZ and the rest of the world? Many children and even adults suffer from dental fear and waiting room anxiety. These fears can lead to poor dental hygiene because fear of the dentist can cause patients to postpone or avoid their regular checkups altogether. Parents may soon be able to breathe a sigh of relief if this new technology is implemented according to a new study published in Acta Odontologia Scandinavica.

According to estimates reported in this study, around 20% of children have a fear of dentists. Children who suffer from these fears and anxiety report more dental pain and are generally more disruptive during their appointments. This can be an issue for both the child and the dentist–not to mention the parents.

During this study, children aged between 7 and 9 who were considered uncooperative displayed far less anxiety and demonstrated increased cooperation than those in the control group when engaging in audiovisual distraction in the form of watching cartoons through an eyeglass system. The average pulse rate was lower than the control group during the injection of local anesthetic to show the physiological evidence, despite the fact that the children didn’t report any difference in pain or anxiety.